Charting the biggest one-day leaps in Los Angeles County since the pandemic began, health officials reported 28 new deaths and 711 new cases of the novel coronavirus Saturday, April 4, bringing the county’s total to 117 deaths and 5,277 cases of the virus.

Of those whose deaths were reported Saturday, officials said, 21 had underlying health conditions and 17 were over the age of 65. Nine people who died were between the ages of 18 and 65; six people who died in this age group had underlying health conditions.

“This is the most dramatic increase in deaths we have seen since the COVID-19 crisis began, and our condolences go out to each and every person impacted by these heartbreaking losses,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director.

As of Saturday, 1,168 people who have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, have been hospitalized, officials said, representing about 22% of confirmed cases.

Nearly 29,000 people have been tested for the virus so far, and 14% of them tested positive.

Of the county’s confirmed cases, 2,641 were men and 2,277 were women, with 151 under investigation.

The number of cases across Los Angeles County grew by roughly 500 per day last week. But Ferrer said that as more testing comes online, the number of confirmed cases will likely jump to 1,000 daily by next week — given that roughly 10% of people who are tested turn out to be positive, and the county expects to soon have capacity to test 10,000 people a day.

“We want to be prepared for that,” Ferrer said. “I think that it’s very accurate that at some point next week we will start reporting that big an increase in the number of cases, because thankfully we’re able to actually test more people and make sure that people who are tested have the opportunity, if they are positive, to isolate themselves and not infect others and identify their close contacts, who will quarantine themselves and also not potentially infect others.

Ferrer said the county has been testing about 7,000 people a day, and noted there is often an extended wait for results to come in.

“So this is what it means for all of us here in L.A. County: The next few weeks are going to be critically important because we are going to see more cases of people who are positive with COVID-19. But it’s our hope that the rate increase continues to be manageable and that we don’t overwhelm our health care system. And I think that in part depends on all of you.”

Three new drive-up coronavirus testing locations opened in L.A. County Friday, though they are only accessible by appointment. The screening sites are at Gate 17 of the Pomona Fairplex; the South Bay Galleria, at 1815 Hawthorne Blvd. in Redondo Beach; and Antelope Valley Mall, 1233 Rancho Vista Blvd. in Palmdale.

California has tested 126,000 people. Of those, 13,000 test results are still pending as of Friday. That’s down from the 59,500 pending results that were reported Thursday. As of Friday, the state reported 12,026 confirmed COVID-19 cases, a 12.4% increase from the previous day, plus 276 deaths.

COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019, is a respiratory disease that causes fever, a cough and trouble breathing. While most people will develop mild symptoms, the disease can cause more severe symptoms — and, as the increasing death toll illustrates, prove fatal — especially among the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.

In her Saturday statement, Ferrer emphasized the need to protect those groups who are most at risk.

“Now, more than ever, we must unify as a community to protect this vulnerable population by making sure they are able to stay home and take every precaution,” she said. “This is the time for neighbors, friends, and families to make sure that those at highest risk for serious illness from COVID-19 are able to easily and safely remain in their homes with all their needs met.”

Ferrer urged people to call and check on elderly neighbors and family members.

“These are tough times, but we are a caring LA County,” she said, “and we will get through this together.”

The ability of the virus to spread even before patients develop symptoms has led to increasing recommendations that residents wear some type of non-surgical mask or face covering when they go out in public. Ferrer and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have both touted the benefits of covering their faces to prevent a spread of droplets that can spread the virus from falling on surfaces or on other people.

Officials continued to stress that residents should not purchase hospital-grade masks, which are in short supply and desperately needed in hospitals.

Ferrer said people can use scarves or other fabric, suggesting that people go online for instructions on how to fashion a homemade mask.

Ferrer again noted that wearing such a face-covering does not free people from the need to remain at home as much as possible and practice social-distancing and hand-washing.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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Hayley Munguia covers Long Beach City Hall for the Southern California News Group. She previously worked as a data reporter for FiveThirtyEight and has written for The Week, the Jerusalem Post and the Austin American-Statesman, among other publications. She's originally from Austin, graduated from NYU and will pet a dog any chance she gets.

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